The biography of the newly installed CIA Director, General David H. Petraeus

Commander, International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces – Afghanistan

General David H. Petraeus assumed command of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A) on July 4, 2010 after serving for over 20 months as Commander, United States Central Command.

Before his assignment as CENTCOM Commander, General Petraeus commanded Multi-National Force-Iraq where he led US and Coalition Forces during “the surge.” Prior to his tour as MNF-I Commander, he commanded the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, during which time he oversaw the development of the Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual. Before that assignment, he served for over 15 months as the first Commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq and the NATO Training Mission-Iraq. That deployment to Iraq followed his command of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), during which he led the “Screaming Eagles” in combat during the fight to Baghdad and throughout the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His command of the 101st followed a year deployed on Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia, where he was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the NATO Stabilization Force and the Deputy Commander of the US Joint Counter-Terrorism Task Force-Bosnia. Prior to his tour in Bosnia, he spent two years at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, serving first as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations of the 82nd Airborne Division and then as the Chief of Staff of XVIII Airborne Corps.